IELTS Pronunciation Practice: The /ʒ/ sound

Technique

How to say it

1
Shape your lips into a gentle flare with your teeth lightly together, exactly as you would for the /ʃ/ sound in 'ship'.
2
Position the front blade of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth just behind your upper teeth ridge without touching it.
3
Breathe out steadily to create friction while actively vibrating your vocal cords to add voicing.
4
Place your fingers on your throat to confirm you feel a continuous vibration rather than a sudden stop.

7 pairs

Minimal pairs

Say each pair aloud. If the two words sound the same when you record yourself, slow down and go back to the steps above.

rouge/ruche
rouge/ruse
beige/bays
lesion/legion
leisure/ledger
pleasure/pledger
seizure/Caesar

12 sentences

Practice lines from IELTS-style answers

1
Watching television in the evening gives me immense pleasure after work.
/ʒ/ in television and pleasure
2
Making that decision was an unusually tough challenge for my family.
/ʒ/ in decision and unusually
3
I usually spend my leisure time reading books or cycling locally.
/ʒ/ in usually and leisure
4
Living abroad gave me a lot of exposure to different cultures.
/ʒ/ in exposure
5
To be honest, it was a purely casual conversation with my neighbour.
/ʒ/ in casual
6
We need to measure the environmental impact of modern urban transport.
/ʒ/ in measure
7
On special occasions, my relatives gather at our flat for dinner.
/ʒ/ in occasions
8
Doing regular revision helps prevent confusion before a major university exam.
/ʒ/ in revision and confusion
9
My hometown has a clear vision for expanding local green spaces.
/ʒ/ in vision
10
I treasure the quiet weekends I get to spend outdoors nearby.
/ʒ/ in treasure
11
Painting my bedroom beige created a much calmer atmosphere at home.
/ʒ/ in beige
12
In the end, we reached the conclusion that moving was best.
/ʒ/ in conclusion

Say it in a real answer

Record an IELTS Speaking answer and get a Pronunciation band from the AI examiner, with the exact words that were hard to understand.

Watch out

Common mistakes

→Many candidates unvoice the consonant and produce /ʃ/ instead, turning 'pleasure' into 'pleasher'.
→Some speakers insert an unwanted stop and say /dʒ/ instead of a continuous /ʒ/ in words like 'decision'.
→Learners often substitute /z/ when they see the letter 's' in mid-word positions like 'casual' or 'vision'.

In the exam: Use common evaluative phrases containing /ʒ/, such as 'It was a tough decision' or 'It gives me great pleasure', to sound natural and confident during the Speaking test.

Frequently asked questions

How much does pronunciation count in IELTS Speaking?+

A quarter of your Speaking band. Examiners judge how easy you are to understand and how well you use features like stress, rhythm and intonation, not whether you sound British or American.

Do I need a native accent for Band 8?+

No. An accent is fine at every band. What matters is that individual sounds are clear, stress falls on the right syllables and your intonation helps the listener follow you.

How should I practise these lines?+

Read each line slowly, then at natural speed, then record yourself and compare. Say the sentences in a real answer next, because examiners hear your pronunciation while you think, not while you read.

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The /ʒ/ sound (measure, decision)

How to say it

Minimal pairs

Practice lines from IELTS-style answers

Common mistakes

Frequently asked questions

More consonant sounds practice